auditory

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈɔdəˌtɔri/ UK /ˈɔːdɪtəri/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
relating to the sense or organs of hearing

Usage: Auditory is a relational adjective meaning connected with hearing. It describes a sense, organ, process, or signal, rather than whether one particular sound is easy to hear.

The experiment compared auditory signals with flashing lights on a screen.

The test measures the auditory response to faint tones.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · relating to the sense or... aural acoustic sound hearing

Opposites

visual

Word family

Related forms audible audio audition auditorium audience

Etymology

The adjective comes from Latin audītōrius, pertaining to hearing, related to audiō, to hear, whose infinitive is audīre.

auditorius Latin audire Latin *h₂ew- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# auditory

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈɔdəˌtɔri/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɔːdɪtəri/

## Meanings
1. relating to the sense or organs of hearing

## Usage Notes
- relating to the sense or organs of hearing: Auditory is a relational adjective meaning connected with hearing. It describes a sense, organ, process, or signal, rather than whether one particular sound is easy to hear.

## Examples
- The experiment compared auditory signals with flashing lights on a screen.
- The test measures the auditory response to faint tones.

## Synonyms
- aural
- acoustic
- sound
- hearing

## Antonyms
- visual

## Related Forms
- audible
- audio
- audition
- auditorium
- audience

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: auditorius
- Root: audire - to hear
- Root: *h₂ew-

## Etymology
The adjective comes from Latin audītōrius, pertaining to hearing, related to audiō, to hear, whose infinitive is audīre.

## AI Etymology
auditory comes from Latin auditorius ('relating to hearing'), from audire ('to hear'). The path is chiefly one of transmission: an older form is taken into English, with the word's shape and meaning carried through the language names and forms preserved in the history. In modern use, the adjective sense is "relating to the sense or organs of hearing", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as audible, audio, audition, auditorium, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Latin auditorius, Latin audire, Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew-, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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